Accused of creating a bogus Red scare and smearing countless innocent victims in a five-year reign of terror, Senator Joseph McCarthy is universally remembered as a demagogue, a bully, and a liar. History has judged him such a loathsome figure that even today, a half-century after his death, his name remains synonymous with witch-hunts.

But that conventional image is all wrong, as veteran journalist and author M. Stanton Evans reveals in this groundbreaking book. The long-awaited Blacklisted by History, based on six years of intensive research, dismantles the myths surrounding Joe McCarthy and his campaign to unmask Communists, Soviet agents, and flagrant loyalty risks working within the US government. Evans’ revelations completely overturn our understanding of McCarthy, McCarthyism, and the Cold War.

Drawing on primary sources, Evans presents irrefutable evidence of a relentless Communist drive to penetrate our government, influence its policies, and steal its secrets. Most shocking of all, he shows that US officials supposedly guarding against this danger not only let it happen but actively covered up the penetration. All of this was precisely as Joe McCarthy contended.

Evans shows that practically everything we’ve been told about McCarthy is false, including conventional treatment of the famous 1950 speech at Wheeling, West Virginia, that launched the McCarthy era, the Senate hearings that casually dismissed his charges, and much more.

In the end, Senator McCarthy was censured by his colleagues and condemned by the press and historians. Blacklisted by History provides the first accurate account of what McCarthy did and, more broadly, what happened to America during the Cold War. It is a revealing exposé of the forces that distorted our national policy in that conflict and our understanding of its history since.

Quotes & Awards

“Please, America, read this book.”

Glenn Beck

“The greatest book since the Bible.”

Ann Coulter

“Evans goes through extensive files and transcripts with complete mastery of complex material and an engaging turn of phrase that makes more than six hundred pages of painstaking analysis both a triumph of historical scholarship and a gripping detective story.”

Salisbury Review

“Of the hundreds of books on the McCarthy era, Stan Evans has written the best—a nuanced, incredibly detailed work of scholarship.”

American Spectator

“In this masterful instant classic, M. Stanton Evans sets out to tell the ‘Untold Story of Joe McCarthy’ and does so definitively.”

WorldNetDaily.com

“It takes M. Stanton Evans’ meticulous investigative journalism to show what Joe McCarthy’s short stay on the national stage really was about.”

Weekly Standard

“So comprehensive is Evans’ research that it will be a foolish historian who does not consult Blacklisted by History when a question arises over some person or event that comes into the McCarthy story.”

“This book will change forever how you think about Senator McCarthy and the Soviet penetration of the US government and society.”

Bob McMahan, Foreign Service Journal

“This is a master newspaperman at work: digging, interviewing the record, pulling apart and putting together the details of deeds done mostly by the politicians who ran our imperfect national government in the nineteen fifties.”

Chronicles

Listener Opinions

by Kat | 1/22/2014

" M Stanton Evans was informative, convincing, and further proves that McCarthy was a good man. The book itself was a bit dry, but I guess that was unavoidable. He had a boatload of evidence defending McCarthy, everything from VENONA to what McCarthy REALLY said at Wheeling. Read it. The 600+ pages are worth it, even if you have to push yourself. "

by Seth | 1/20/2014

" Whenever the ruling elite are as unanimous about something as they are about Joe McCarthy, they're guaranteed to be wrong. They had to smear McCarthy because he saw them for who they are. Evans belongs up there with Finkelstein as a teller of unfashionable truth. "

by Sara | 1/19/2014

" Fascinating stuff! Long and some parts were dry, but I learned so much! "

by Nancee | 1/4/2014

" It started off great, but that was the end of it. There were massive amount of facts thrown out there in a random collection. He didn't tie things together and I didn't know what or whom he was talking about half the time. After about 100 pages in, I called it quits. "

" very revealing book, well written with excellant background data - there is so much more to this story then you know "

Charles | 12/13/2013

" Popular history is often wrong, as is the case with Joe McCarthy. The real story behind the so-called witch hunts of the fifties. "

Lola | 12/5/2013

" Review in a few words: Great premise, too many numbers. "

Warwriter | 11/28/2013

" Worship of McCarthy? Uh, no. "

Darren | 10/30/2013

" This book gives one the feeling of an X Files episode. The only difference between the two is to substitute subversive leftists for aliens. Great read if your interested in the communist penetration of the federal govt. allowed by the Democrats during the 40's and 50's. "

Jake Wegman | 8/28/2013

" Impressive research, but just took too friggin' long. It's the usual media story of some historical figure gets unfairly painted with a broad brush. I think Evans could've presented a much more concise argument. There are just too many people to keep track of here. "

Sage Streck | 7/2/2012

" Very thorough examination of McCarthy. I learned a lot, and I found the Venona project especially interesting. It's nice to see a book that doesn't demonize McCarthy for his patriotism to this country! "

Jim | 12/13/2011

" MaCarthy through the eyes of a "non-politically correct" historian. There's no redactionist history here! "

Jpavalock | 9/14/2011

" The truth about the McCarthy era "

Mary Pat | 3/18/2011

" This was an interesting work detailing McCarthy's legend. I enjoyed hearing the other side to the usual tale but am still unsure of the real story. "

Linda | 1/7/2011

" Just started. Realized after listening to Stardust audio book how little I know about the cold war and McCarthy. "

Nancee | 8/8/2010

" It started off great, but that was the end of it. There were massive amount of facts thrown out there in a random collection. He didn't tie things together and I didn't know what or whom he was talking about half the time. After about 100 pages in, I called it quits.
"

Linda | 4/24/2010

" Just started. Realized after listening to Stardust audio book how little I know about the cold war and McCarthy.
"

Bill | 8/26/2008

" very revealing book, well written with excellant background data - there is so much more to this story then you know
"

Charles | 8/21/2008

" Popular history is often wrong, as is the case with Joe McCarthy. The real story behind the so-called witch hunts of the fifties.
"

Jim | 6/30/2008

" MaCarthy through the eyes of a "non-politically correct" historian. There's no redactionist history here!
"

Jake | 1/26/2008

" Impressive research, but just took too friggin' long. It's the usual media story of some historical figure gets unfairly painted with a broad brush. I think Evans could've presented a much more concise argument. There are just too many people to keep track of here.
"

Darren | 1/18/2008

" This book gives one the feeling of an X Files episode. The only difference between the two is to substitute subversive leftists for aliens. Great read if your interested in the communist penetration of the federal govt. allowed by the Democrats during the 40's and 50's.
"

Other Titles by M. Stanton Evans:

About the Author

M. Stanton Evans is the author of seven books, including The Theme Is Freedom. A contributing editor for Human Events, he served for many years as director of the National Journalism Center. He was previously the editor of the Indianapolis News, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and a commentator for CBS and Voice of America. He lives near Washington, DC.

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